Multicultural Books for the Classrooms
For more information: sreelalitha@tarabooks.com
ASSISTED READING: AGES 5 - 7
Young readers are of different kinds. Some take to books early. Others prefer to have books read to them, before they read them on their own. We give below a list of our books that require a teacher or parent to sit with a child or a group of children and read to them, or along with them. The art in these books is as important as the words, so you could simultaneously point to the pictures, link pictures to words and get children to draw their own pictures.
One Two Tree!
Inviting children to count the improbable number of animals that clamber up an ever-expanding tree, this is a number book, a picture book, a nursery rhyme and a fable about living together. Spot and count the number of cleverly hidden animals on the tree. Suitable for the English and Maths lessons.
Visit the Bhil Carnival!
A one-of-a-kind interactive experience through the jolly maze of an Indian village carnival: combining the features of a map, a story book and a pop-up picture book. It’s an activity book that promotes observation, concentration and storytelling. Comes with an activity sheet.
Knock! Knock!
Follow a little girl in search of her teddy bear… and watch life in her apartment building unfold! An interactive book whose inventive form and narrative visuals will be an initial discovery that makes the child keep retuning to the book. Suitable for Art and English lessons.
Do!
Pull, drink, carry, dance, read… People in Do! — illustrated in the Warli tribal style — are always doing something. Each image is a narrative built around a verb. An activity sheet is available for the book, while the book itself includes a page that shows children how to draw in the Warli style. Suitable for English grammar and Art lessons.
To Market! To Market! Alphabets are Amazing Animals
ind Kiwis Kiss Kangaroos, Lazy Lions Lick Lollipops and Plump K Penguins Play Ping Pong… there is no end to the strange things animals get up to in this alliterative alphabet book. Along with word play, children can have fun with alliteration: they can come up with their own animal alliterations, and even draw them. Suitable for Art and English lessons.
Poetry, art and observation. A happy and colourful account of a little girl who goes to a busy market in India... and learns that the fun is as much in the looking as in the buying. Take children on a visit to the local market and observe at least one or two stalls carefully. Talk to them about what they’ve seen and how it is different from an Indian market. Ideal for Social Science and English lessons.
EARLY READERS: AGES 6 - 8
Young readers confident enough to read on their own would benefit from as many different kinds of books as possible. They may or may not understand all that they read, but they find it challenging and interesting to make sense of new words and work through sentences, as well as become competent at ‘reading’ pictures. We have divided books for this age into two levels.
Books with simple plot lines, unusual art, and colourful animal and human characters.
LEVEL 1
Tiger on a Tree Tiger, Tiger... on a tree! Is it true? Can it be? If you want to know: Read. This book invites children to think about conservation issues in an accessible way. The powerful art in two colours can be used to begin an experiment in drawing a story in two colours—black and one other colour! Ideal for Art and English lessons.
Catch that Crocodile! One day, Falguni the Fruitseller finds a crocodile in a ditch. “Catch that Crocodile!” cry the terrified townspeople… But who will do it? Get children to play the different characters who try to rescue a lost crocodile. Ideal for a class play and extracurricular hours.
Elephants Never Forget! A baby elephant is lost and alone in the forest, when a herd of buffaloes comes along and takes him into its fold. What is he now? An elephant… or a buffalo? A book full of sound words and bold art — get children to notice how sound makes meaning. Call attention to how pictures as much as words tell a story. Ideal for Ethics / Moral Science or English lessons.
EARLY READERS: AGES 6 - 8 Books that ideally should be read after children work through Level 1. The books for Level 2 readers are set in different cultural environments and require the child to move from her familiar world to something new and exciting. In each instance, the art helps children make this journey from the familiar to the unfamiliar.
LEVEL 2
The Churki-Burki Book of Rhyme Filled with rhymes, games, and songs, The ChurkiBurki Book of Rhyme is a cheerfully illustrated tale of girls growing up in a Gond tribal village in Central India. It is a text that can be used in both English and Social Science classes. Children will enjoy the rhyming songs as well as the interesting things that tribal children do. You can ask them to compare and contrast their own games and songs with what they find in the book. Alone in the Forest A gently perceptive exploration of the psychology of fear, with pitch perfect illustrations by Gond artist Bhajju Shyam. It can be used in appropriate classes to get children to talk about what they are afraid of, and what happens when they are afraid. Get children to notice how the artist has literally ‘drawn’ fear — through the use of colour, patterning and varying the size of images. Start a discussion on how to deal with fear — whether it is possible to ‘draw’ what one fears and whether that makes one feel better; or whether making up a story based on what we fear can prove comforting. Get children to imagine fear through the use of a) colour b) image and c) size.
he Kanchil Series T This series of trickster tales features Kanchil the mouse deer, a beloved folklore figure in Indonesia. Each story is illustrated in a different style of Indian folk art. Children can read each of the simple tales in the three books, and talk about Kanchil. Call attention to how Kanchil is shown differently in each of these books. They can draw their own version of Kanchil, or make up their own Kanchil story. Ideal for English and Art classes.
he Great Race T An Indonesian trickster tale, featuring the beloved mouse deer Kanchil, illustrated in the intricate Mata-Ni-Pachedi style of textile art from Gujarat.
The Sacred Banana Leaf A traditional Indonesian trickster tale featuring Kanchil the mouse deer, illustrated in the exquisite Patachitra tradition of mural painting from Odisha.
angoes and Bananas M A traditional Indonesian trickster tale, featuring Kanchil the mouse deer, illustrated with textile art in the Kalamkari tradition from southern India.
MIDDLE READERS: AGES 10-13
Children aged 10 and upwards are likely to enjoy this mix of fiction and non-fiction. There is something for every kind of reader here — comics, classic children’s fiction, Indian legends… Some of these come with notes for the educators.
aptain Coconut and the C Case of the Missing Bananas Meet ace Detective Captain Coconut, who can solve any mystery, large or small. In his first case, he finds himself on a slippery trail of banana peels and missing numbers. Captain Coconut and the Case of the Missing Bananas is a one-of-a-kind comic where the art as much as the text plays a role in moving the story. Fun for English and Art lessons. With activity sheet.
The Patua Pinocchio A quintessentially Indian version of a favourite children’s classic The Adventures of Pinocchio, The Patua Pinocchio is illustrated in the style of the Patua scroll tradition of eastern India. Ideal for Art and English classes. With activity sheet.
he Mahabharatha T A vividly illustrated one-of-a-kind retelling of the great Indian epic of war and fratricide — by a twelve-year-old artist and author. This book is bound to strike a chord with younger readers. Ideal as supplementary reading.
THEMATIC LISTS: ART ACTIVITY BOOKS
A series of introductory books in art pedagogy, fostering learning by doing. They introduce children to an important concept: that there are different ways of rendering a subject, what is commonly called a ‘style’. The child gets to know different styles of Indian art through focussing on one subject. Older children will begin to understand that art is as much about the imagination as it is about depiction.
8 Ways to Draw an Elephant and 8 Ways to Draw Fish Accessible colouring and drawing books that foster a range of skills while introducing children to Indian folk and indigenous art traditions. Ideal for Art lessons, they come with an activity sheet. Ages 4-7
Two classic art activity books that are very popular as workshop resources. While these are ideal for children aged 10 and above, some of the activities can be used to get younger children to draw and colour.
The Book Book This visual feast of a book shows the reader how intangible elements can be turned into pictorial narratives: ideas and inspiration on how to create your own books from everyday materials. This is about making your own story book, and all that this involves: story, illustration and bookmaking. Offers a range of activities that can be rearranged in different ways to suit individual classroom needs. Ideal for Art and Literature classes. Ages 8-13
The Colour Book Through childhood memories of colour and the practical tasks of mixing, playing and experimenting with paint, The Colour Book presents a sense of colour that is as subjective as it is objective. This book works best for children aged 10 and above, though some activities are suitable for older children as well. Children get to explore colour through a series of associative activities. Ideal for Art classes. Ages 8-13
THEMATIC LISTS: CHILD RIGHTS, ENVIRONMENT, WAR
The key factor in these books is their special ability to offer children glimpses into lives that are different from their own. Without labouring the point, they are able to communicate other points of view, which leads to important learning in the area of social concerns.
Trash! Handles a difficult theme gently and with sensitivity. It tells the story of children who pick rags for a living in India, and discusses issues of child labour, human rights, the environment and recycling. The books contains a detailed section on activities and projects. Ideal for use in Environmental Studies and Social Studies lessons. Ages 12 and above
Tree Matters A visually rich book, by a woman from a tribal community in India. It provides a very playful context to discuss issues of ecology and sustainability, while also introducing children to an art tradition that is both ancient and yet startlingly modern. Ideal for use in Environmental Studies and Social Studies lessons, it comes with an activity sheet. Ages 12 and above
he Boy Who Speaks in Numbers T A darkly satiric tale told by a boy who lives in a refugee camp, and is set in Sri Lanka. It manages a difficult feat: through a sardonically mocking style and powerful illustrations, it captures the grit of everyday life as it unfolds for millions of people across the world. An activity sheet is available for this book, which is ideal for History and Art lessons. Ages 14 and above
THEMATIC LISTS: GENDER Shifting the Gaze: Women’s Stories and Art Women’s struggle for equality, recognition and respect is universal — in this collection of visual stories, women artists from different regions of India paint and talk about their experiences, dreams and future aspirations. What unites them is a quiet assertion of their own voice, as they observe and capture the world around them. Many of the indigenous art traditions have their origins in the decorative designs that women create to beautify their homes. Over time, these have evolved into distinct art styles, each particular to a region. The women artists of these books have embraced the traditional form to tell their own stories. Speaking for oneself is a radical act in a context where women are always spoken for. Each book in this curated list explores particular themes in its own distinctive way, and comes with an activity sheet.
Hope is a Girl Selling Fruit is about a young woman finding her voice, as an artist and as an independent young person. The young artist of the book steers her essentially female tradition of Mithila art away from the domesticity of its origin to question the traditional confines of women’s lives. Ideal reading for young people, grappling with issues of adolescence, identity and freedom. Ages 14 and above
Sita’s Ramayana retells the classic Indian epic of Ramayana from the perspective of the captured and banished queen Sita. Both the art and the story draw on the living traditions of the Patuas of West Bengal. The book explores themes of women’s forbearance and dignity in the brutal context of war, where women can become pawns in the territorial moves of men. Ages 14 and above
Following My Paint Brush is about the incredible journey of Dulari Devi, a domestic helper who went on to become a renowned artist. The Mithila art tradition that gives voice to her inner artist also helps her beat the odds and find an identity beyond what was expected of her through oppressive societal norms. Perfect for young readers who can find inspiration following their dreams. Ages 8 and above
Sultana’s Dream is a hundred-year-old utopian novella, imagining an upside-down world where women rule the outside world and men are shut away. This version is illustrated by a brilliant woman artist from the Gond tribe of Central India. It explores the theme of women’s emancipation in a way that continues to inspire and stay relevant even today. Ages 14 and above
rawing from the City is about the life of D Tejubehan, a migrant worker-turned-artist as she reflects on her journey from poverty into who she is today. The book explores the theme of liberation through the self-taught art of a woman who has lived in culture of limiting social expectations. In imagining her women of the city — cycling, driving, flying — she is imagining a world where women are free to move and just be. Ages 14 and above